D&D (2024) The future of edition changes and revisions

[JiffyPopTart]

I'm going to go on record saying that I fear 5e will be very akin to the Nintendo Wii in that it's massively popular but a large amount of the consumers aren't at all interested in chasing that dragon a second time.

The Wii was one of the most successful consoles of all time in getting new players in on the experience of videogames. The Wii U was a massive flop giving everyone "slightly nicer more of the same".

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I run 5e professionally for kids sometimes, and I haven't noticed anything casual with their engagement in the game. They like running complex builds and heavily utilize full casters and strange martial combos. These are the same kids that will learn how to master many difficult video games, some of my kids having already conquered Elden Ring for instance. Nor are they casual in the sense that they are only interested in D&D as a peripheral hobby. All of them are pretty heavily invested in the game and have fairly developed opinions about what they like, dislike and want out of the game.

I am no professional, but I have for years run at Cons and Stores (but not since the loc down in 2020) and I have to say this matches my experience.

I have seen a young person that felt they had no place and no friends ask to join a game, first of all the very fact of being they not he/she threw some of us (but we adapted) but by there 4th session they had spells down, feats being rated and tossing up ASI vs feat for customization vs power were asking to reskin a famailr as a creature I had never heard of... and by level 8 was already ALSO DMing there new friends.

I had a preteen girl who I wasn't sure if she could read the book fast enough down load an ap for a die roller (why did she have a better smart phone then me?) and start drawing up a multi classed sorcerer paliden while I was helping another player adjust there equipment. She is driving now and has DMed but last I knew was playing online. (I think she used the other table not roll20)

my niece and nephew saw/heard us playing and were ready to try by 7 and 9. btw there dad used to play, they correct him on rules and have a better grasp than a guy who was playing 2e before I was...

 

[DND_Reborn]

I am no professional, but I have for years run at Cons and Stores (but not since the loc down in 2020) and I have to say this matches my experience.

I have seen a young person that felt they had no place and no friends ask to join a game, first of all the very fact of being they not he/she threw some of us (but we adapted) but by there 4th session they had spells down, feats being rated and tossing up ASI vs feat for customization vs power were asking to reskin a famailr as a creature I had never heard of... and by level 8 was already ALSO DMing there new friends.

I had a preteen girl who I wasn't sure if she could read the book fast enough down load an ap for a die roller (why did she have a better smart phone then me?) and start drawing up a multi classed sorcerer paliden while I was helping another player adjust there equipment. She is driving now and has DMed but last I knew was playing online. (I think she used the other table not roll20)

my niece and nephew saw/heard us playing and were ready to try by 7 and 9. btw there dad used to play, they correct him on rules and have a better grasp than a guy who was playing 2e before I was...

LOL what can you say? Kids are sponges when it comes to something they are actually interested in. I remember when I first started I was voracious about the game, reading every rule book I could get several times, learning all the systems, until I knew things better than my sister or her friends who were 5 years older than I was. It is why I took over that group and became the DM when I was just 8...

It happens.

And I am glad to see so many youngsters interested in the game (even if different) that gave me literally thousands of hours of enjoyment over the decades.

 

[Mercurius]

in my experience this is it exactly...

2e is hard, math doesn't make sense... imagine no more thac0 or weird roll high/low worries...3e fixes it
3e We know that there are problems the ranger stinks haste is broken and the skills cost too much, but 3.5 will fix it
3.5 so your games are turning into rocket tag with caster supremacy, and some rules (grapple) are too hard don't worry 4e will fix it
4e fixed it but you think we fixxed so much it isn't D&D anymore... don't worry 5e is back to basics

I don't know what 6e will fix or break but there is a pattern

Well again, as I implied in another thread in response to you, I think you are equating your own "rules granularity" with the player base as a whole. I mean, in any context, there are people who get really into the nit-and-gritty, and/or really know their stuff. Meaning, experts tend to be more critical of something within their field than casual folks.

For example, an armchair astronomer might come up with a highly speculative theory and among those who care, most will say "Wow, cool," while a smaller number of more technically minded folks (astrophysicists) will say, "That's wrong or unlikely on so many levels."

Or think of audiophiles, who might miss the forest (the sound of the music) for the trees (How accurately the sound is reproduced on a stereo system). Or a casual drinker vs. a wine aficionado...it is a bit of expert's curse: you trade in expertise and a more refined palate for loss of a taste for lower quality (or complexity, or granuality) stuff.

The point being, for the majority of D&D players, there might not be anything to "fix."

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I'm going to go on record saying that I fear 5e will be very akin to the Nintendo Wii in that it's massively popular but a large amount of the consumers aren't at all interested in chasing that dragon a second time.

The Wii was one of the most successful consoles of all time in getting new players in on the experience of videogames. The Wii U was a massive flop giving everyone "slightly nicer more of the same".

there is even more working against WotC. I said it isn another thread, but movie theaters and board and card games do well when there are economic down turns... 2020 kicked the ecnomy hard BUT also shut down meeting for board games or going to the movies... BUT at the same time streaming D&D was on the rise (and could be bindged like netflix) and online table tops and amazon meant you could learn and play a game without leaving home.

that lightning may never hit a bottle again

 

[JThursby]

It does make me wonder, though: how many of the 30 million (or, say 20ish million new players) are serious, like the ones you play with? Meaning, how representative are your players of the incoming cohort?

It would be impossible for me to say conclusively, I can only provide my own anecdotal experience. But I have always found the assumption that children are stupid and engage with things minimally or basically is largely incorrect. I suspect many people use someone's experience as a measurement for their potential, which gives them a grossly distorted and negative few of those with less experience than them.

My assumption is that third party publishers mainly cater to serious/diehard types - that for every Kobold Press hardcover sold, there are dozens--if not hundreds--of WotC hardcovers sold. But I'm just guessing.

Give than at least 1 person in every group is an active DM, that alone is a lot of people who tend toward a serious engagement with the game and look for additional material. For every aspirant DM and player looking for character options or ideas that number climbs. It's more people than you would think.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

became the DM when I was just 8...

my twice a month DM was the younger brother of someone who had played when they were in HS... he was 13 or 14 when he took over DMing for 18-24 year olds...

we are much older now though

 

[Mercurius]

Man, I am sure I am in the minority on this, but with a couple minor changes I could stick with 5e way past 2024.

I was really ready for a new edition after 3.0 and 3.5. We enjoyed the game, but it was time for something new.

I'm not new edition resistant, but I'm not sure I'm close to done with 5e.

Interesting. I wonder if this has something to do with WotC's focus on stories and worlds, and lesser emphasis on crunch.

This is also why I think 5E is more sustainable than past editions. Where 3.5 essentially ran out of new things to print, because it was heavily focused on rules and character customization--or, at least, the law of diminishing returns came into effect--5E is focused on stories and worlds, and there is no end to that.

That said, making the big assumption that the world remains relatively stable, I could see them planning for an every-10-year-anniversary revision. I mean, it is hard to imagine the world in 20 years, but I wouldn't be surprised if the folks at WotC are thinking, "We'll do the 50th anniversary, and then keep going with stories and worlds and maybe be a bit experimental, perhaps exploring another genre or two, and then do another revision in 2034 for the 60th."

Things will change, of course, but I think that's a solid long-term plan, if I'm WotC.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Well again, as I implied in another thread in response to you, I think you are equating your own "rules granularity" with the player base as a whole. I mean, in any context, there are people who get really into the nit-and-gritty, and/or really know their stuff. Meaning, experts tend to be more critical of something within their field than casual folks.

in this case I was taking how they pitched them

 

[Parmandur]

how many of the 30 million (or, say 20ish million new players)

Minor note, the last count we received was 50 million players (back in 2021).